To our baseball community, thank you.
There’s that theory that questions if a falling tree in a forest really makes noise when there is nobody around to hear it. That is deep to ponder. The same could be said for a blog as to whether it exists if nobody reads it. Thanks to you all — we get read and shared and have become a thriving Nats community.
In 2023, Cal Newport wrote an article for The New Yorker magazine about the TalkNats community. Cal understood what this place was all about.
In the mail the other day, there was a box from Intrepid with a beautiful handwritten letter of thanks and a gift. It reminded me how fortunate we are to have each other. I feel so deeply indebted to Intrepid for all of his contributions to this site — and here he is thanking me. Over the summer, Mainelaker threw a TalkNats get-together in the Terra Club for a Nats game. The way this community has evolved into friendships is incredible.
From our humble beginnings as “Going Deep With The Nats,” an idea became a reality because of the encouragement of so many of you. It’s been well over a decade now. The emails received from Mike “Mustang” Smith asking us to start a new blog, and Don H. aka Zmunchkin was the brains behind the tech side, and Ray Wyvil and so many others who jumped in. Sol became our site photographer, and we were publishing over 400 articles a year. Our promise was a moderated and interactive site that let your voices heard.
When the site traffic grew to a point that we needed help in an efficient website that could be read by a larger audience, we looked to new options. The workload to keep up with the site became overwhelming, and it was Andrew and Scott who took over the site and created the TalkNats.com name with the logos.
We thank our sources for believing in us — and trusting us with their information. Officially, it was just over 10 years ago when we broke our first story on Twitter. We broke other stories but it seemed that if you didn’t timestamp it on Twitter that it wasn’t legit. We tweeted that Bud Black was not going to be the manager of the Nationals due to a snag in contract negotiations leading to Dusty Baker being named the manager in 2015. Most may remember the Washington Post headlines in print that Black had been hired. Whoops. This was in MLB Trade Rumors:
On a more serious note, when you build a community with longevity, we have lost people. This year, Jack Tavenner, aka NatsJack, passed away. One of the most optimistic Nats fans. He got his first tattoo of the Nats’ World Series logo at the age of 72. He called that a bucket list moment to see a Washington win in the World Series. Jack would message me article ideas, and encourage me to stay positive. He will be missed.
Yes, losing stinks. Nobody likes to lose. Hopefully winning baseball will return soon to Nationals Park.
Enjoy all of what Thanksgiving is about which is as American as baseball! If you’re traveling, safe travels, and eat well and enjoy with your family and friends.
Thanks to all of you as you heard our tree fall in the forest.
* Cover photo is an old graphic created by the Washington Nationals
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